More than 100 motorcycle riders ride in rememberance of the fallen

More than 150 attended the Sept. 11 event at the Abington VFW. Most took their bikes out on the 50.2 mile course underneath a clear Sunday morning sky, with the rest joining them for a noon barbecue picnic of pulled pork, hot dogs and hamburgers under a canopy of trees behind the Post hall.

Eric Martin led a train of more than 100 motorcycles through the South Shore Sunday morning, through wooded two-lane roads, past the beach in Marshfield, circling back to the Abington VFW Post 5737.

The riders came out to remember the 10-year anniversary of Sept. 11, and also to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project, a charity organization providing assistance to injured veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

More than 150 attended the event, most taking their bikes on the 50.2-mile course under a clear Sunday morning sky, with the rest joining them for a noon barbecue of pulled pork, hot dogs and hamburgers under a canopy of trees behind the Post hall.

The event raised about $2,000.

“It’s nice for everybody to get together; it’s also a pretty solemn occasion, because we’re remembering a tragedy that just changed the country. Everybody was affected,” said Ray Pike, 45, of Randolph, the president and chaplain of the Massachusetts chapter of the Veterans Brotherhood Veterans Motorcycle Club, which had about a half dozen riders in the memorial run.

Tom Morrison, an Army veteran and senior commander at Post 5737, helped organize the event with Brian Martin, a Navy veteran and former post commander.

He was nervous about the turnout until the days of wet weather came to an end. Before Thursday, only 11 people had signed up for the event, and only six of those for the ride.

“Being the 10th anniversary, I felt it was important that we did more than just put the flag at half mast, have a moment of silence,” Martin said. “We felt it was more important to let the public know that we haven’t forgotten and we’re not going to forget. We’re here to remember all who perished, and everyone serving overseas, and all who are wounded.”